In a year when technology heralded the magic of the Cloud and 4G phones were popping up everywhere, the year also bore witness to some failures of epic proportion. Here are our picks for the three biggest technology meltdowns of 2011:

3-D Technology

We’ve said it many times – the tech toys and gadgets found on mega yacht charter vessels are a good barometer as to what is hot and what is not. Take for example, 3-D technology. The future might be now, but you’d hardly know it by taking a peek in the average yacht’s salon. A quick look at some of the newest yachts like the 61 meter Benetti yacht LYANAand the 56 meter Perini Navi sail yacht FIDELIS shows 3-D technology has not been embraced by the yachting community.

You just don’t see any 3-D television sets on the yachts, or in many homes. Blame high prices or headaches from wearing silly-colored glasses, but at the end of 2011, interest in 3-D TV is the same as it was at the beginning of 2011, and sales are flat.

iPhone 4SWhile sales are anything but flat for the iPhone 4s, Apples newest handset is still a major consumer letdown. Yes, it’s one of the fastest, best-looking smartphones on the block — but it’s no iPhone 5. Apple aficionados spent the better part of the year waiting for a reincarnated iPhone with a larger screen, and thinner profile. In the end, they were presented with the iPhone 4S — a nominal upgrade at best over the previous model.

Android TabletsWhile the iPhone 4s may have been a letdown, Apple’s iPad tablet juggernaut seems unstoppable, leading us to declare Android tablets as the biggest gadget failure of 2011. A year after the release of the first iPad, not a single technology company has made a dent in Apple’s tablet market. Sales of devices like the Motorola Xoom featuring the Android tablet operating system pale in comparison to the sales of the mighty iPad. Will the new iPad 2 be the final nail in the coffin of Android tablets in the marketplace?